System and method for detecting and correlating individual action information to media content distribution

ABSTRACT

Provided is a method for correlating individual action information with media content distribution, the method including obtaining data related to a presence of an external terminal relative to an output device providing media content, obtaining identifying information of a user associated with the detected external terminal, and storing, in a memory, data received from another party which indicates an action of the user at a virtual or physical location associated with a product or service presented in the provided media content.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e), this application claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/064,899, filed on Oct.16, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

Measuring the effectiveness of an advertisement campaign may providesignificant benefits for providers of products and services beingadvertised, but also for content and advertisement providers. Somemethods include determining quantifiable numbers of any change in salesof a particular product or service on a large scale level after thedistribution of media content, including advertisements, related to theproduct or service in a particular geographic area.

However, no solution exists that allows content providers andadvertisers to correlate specific impressions of media content,including advertisements, made on a specific target consumer withsubsequent action metrics of the same target consumer with respect tothe subject of the media content. Thus, there is a great need for asolution to effectively and specifically correlate subsequent individualaction metrics with previous impressions of the advertisement mediacontent provided to the specific individual.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention include a system and method foridentifying specific instances of a target consumer's exposure to aparticular advertisement, the exposure hereinafter sometimes referred toas an “impression”, detecting subsequent actions of the target consumer,hereinafter sometimes referred to as a “user”, correlating impressionswith the subsequent behavior, and building and maintaining data relatedto behavior correlation with advertisements and profile information ofthe target consumer based on the correlated information.

According to one embodiment, a method for detecting and correlatingindividual action information with media content distribution includesidentifying a personal terminal of a user within a proximate distance ofa media output device outputting media content, generating databaserecord including information related to the media content impression,storing the generated database record in a database, allowing access tothe database by a third party to correlate the user's subsequentbehavior with the media content impression.

Embodiments may include a system including devices, sensors,controllers, communicators, and one or more databases connected by anetwork, or implemented in one or more terminals to collect and storeinformation. Target consumers may be associated with personal mobiledevices that respond to radio signals emitted from communicators such asradio beacons placed throughout the consumers' homes or other locations.

According to one embodiment, a method for detecting and correlatingindividual action information to media content distribution includesproviding media content to an output device to permit displaying of themedia content on the output device, identifying a user as being presentrelative to the output device while the media content is displayed, andstoring in a memory data received from a party which indicates an actionof the user at a virtual or physical location associated with a productor service presented in the media content.

According to one embodiment, a method for detecting and correlatingindividual action information to media content distribution includesidentifying the presence of a user, accessing a database and retrievingan event information record associated with media content impressions ofthe user, recording information related to the user's behaviorcorrelating to the particular media content, and creating a newinformation record associated with behavior metrics of the user.

According to one embodiment, a method for detecting and correlatingindividual action information to media content distribution includescollecting information related to impressions of a user of particularmedia content, and correlating a subsequent behavior of the user relatedto the subject matter of the media content with the previous mediacontent impressions.

According to one embodiment, a system for detecting and correlatingindividual action information to media content distribution includes anoutput device configured to output media content, a communicatorassociated with the output device and configured to identify a user asbeing present relative to the output device while the output device isoutputting the media content, a controller configured to cause a memoryto store data received from a party which indicates an action of theuser at a virtual or physical location associated with a product orservice presented in the media content.

According to one embodiment, a system for detecting and correlatingindividual action information to media content distribution includes aplurality of communicators configured to detect a presence of a mobileterminal associated with a user, a communication unit configured totransmit and receive information, a controller operatively coupled tothe communication unit, wherein the controller is configured tocommunicate with a server via the communication unit to receiveinformation associated with the user's previous media contentimpressions, and transmit information related to the user's presence ata virtual or physical location associated with a product or servicepresented in the media content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects and features of the present disclosure willbecome more apparent upon consideration of the following description ofembodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system for detecting and correlatingindividual action information with media content distribution inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a system for detecting and correlatingindividual action information with media content distribution inaccordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a system for detecting and correlatingindividual action information with media content distribution inaccordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a method for detecting and correlatingindividual action information with media content distribution inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIGS. 5(a), 5(b), and 5(c) are schematic illustrations of a dashboardinterface for detecting and correlating individual action informationwith media content distribution in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a system for detecting and correlatingindividual action information with media content distribution inaccordance with another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawing figures which form a part hereof, and which show byway of illustration specific embodiments of the present invention. It isto be understood by those of ordinary skill in this technological fieldthat other embodiments may be utilized, and that structural, electrical,as well as procedural changes may be made without departing from thescope of the present invention. Wherever possible, the same referencenumbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same orsimilar parts.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a system and method fordetecting and correlating individual action information to media contentdistribution to determine effectiveness of advertising on a granularlevel by detecting, collecting, maintaining, and correlating informationrelated to exposure and impression of particular advertising content ona target consumer and subsequent actions and behaviors of the targetconsumer.

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system100 for detecting and correlating individual action information to mediacontent distribution of the present disclosure. The system 100 includesan output device 101 for outputting media content provided by a mediacontent database or media content server 102. In the depicted example,output device 101 is configured to display or output audio/video contentwhich includes the media content. Such content delivery hardware of theoutput device may include televisions, smart TVs, cable/satellite/pay TVset-top boxes, internet capable television boxes, desktop computers,laptop computers, video game systems, DVD players, tablets, smartphones,automobile entertainment systems, movie theaters, and the like.

However, other embodiments are considered with other types of mediacontent which may include all advertisement in the form of video, audio,television, radio, print, billboard, mail, internet, mobile internet,in-vehicle advertisement, telephone marketing, theater, leaflet,catalog, in-person marketing, and the like. In such other embodiments,output device 101 may be replaced with other vehicles for media deliveryaccording to the media to be directly delivered to a user.

The provided media content may also implement dynamic advertisementreplacement configurations, wherein a dynamic advertisement system (notdepicted) identifies a user and dynamically determines and providesadvertising content based on stored profile information of the user. Thestored profile information may include personal profile informationincluding age, gender, occupation, income level, nationality, sexualpreference, hobbies, activities, travel history, viewing history,purchasing history, and the like. The dynamic advertisement system mayalso interface with social networking databases such as FACEBOOK,TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and the like, to retrieve the personal profileinformation for determining a desired advertising content to provide tothe user. The dynamic advertisement system may utilize a communicator103 and other detection and identification techniques (as discussedfurther below) to identify a user for determining and selecting theadvertisement content to be delivered to the user.

The media content may also include primarily non-advertisement contentwith implied or secondary advertisement content inserted or incorporatedinto the non-advertisement content. For example, the media content mayinclude a television show or a movie which includes strategic productplacement exposed to the consumer via the storyline, audio, or video ofthe media content.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the system 100 further includes a communicator103 associated with the output device 101. The communicator 103 mayinclude transmitting, receiving, or sensing modules, with variousconfigurations and components including sensors, beacons, transmitters,receivers, and the like. The communicator 103 may include wired andwireless communication hardware configured to allow the communicators tocommunicate with external devices, such as an external terminal 104associated with a user 105. Specifically, the communicator 103 may beconfigured to detect the presence of the external terminal 104 viavarious wired and wireless communication protocols. Such communicationprotocols may include USB, HDMI and related data channels, Wifi, BTLA,DLNA, Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, RFID, Zigbee, NFC, WiMax, Ethernet, andthe like.

Embodiments of the communicator 103 may include wireless sensors orbeacons, such as RFID readers, Bluetooth LE sensors, NFC sensors, andthe like. The communicator 103 may be formed as a standalone unit, ormay also be integrated in various modules of the system, including theoutput device 101. The communicator 103 may also be integrated withother static or dynamic content delivery systems, such as billboards,signs, bus stops, elevators, gas pumps, shopping centers, event centers,point of sale locations, furniture, appliances, and the like. Thisdiscussion is not intended to be limiting, as other embodiments areconsidered, wherein communicators are provided wherever media andadvertising content can be delivered to a target user and a presence orother action of the user can be detected.

Via the communicator 103, the system 100 may detect a presence of theexternal terminal 104 associated with the user 105 while the mediacontent is output on the output device 101. The communicator 103 maydetect and collect various data regarding the presence of the externalterminal 104, including a time and date of the detected presence, thedistance of the external terminal 104 from the output device 101, a timeduration of the detected presence, a movement of the external terminal104 relative to the output device 104, and the like. The communicator103 may be configured to associate the detected presence and collecteddata with the media content concurrently being output by the outputdevice. In this example, the communicator 103 is discussed ascommunicating with the external terminal 104, but other embodiments mayinclude communicators which identify target individuals by other means,including physical scanners such as face recognition, retinarecognition, fingerprint readers, voice recognition, 3-D modelingrecognition, pressure sensors incorporated in locations such as floorsand seats, and the like.

In some embodiments, the external terminal 104 may be specificallyconfigured to be detected by the communicator 103. In such embodiments,the external terminal 104 may execute a software application such as anapplication of a mobile external terminal which allows the externalterminal 104 to be detected and/or communicate with the communicator103. In other embodiments, the communicator 103 detects the externalterminal 104 which is not specifically configured for detection by thecommunicator 103. In FIG. 1, only one external terminal 104 associatedwith one user 105 is shown, however the communicator 103 may beconfigured to detect and collect data regarding multiple externalterminals 104 associated with multiple users 105 concurrently in thesame space. When multiple external terminals are present in a singlecommunicator 103 location, the communicator 103 may be configured toprovide a notification or display information of the external terminalor terminals that are currently being communicated with. In otherembodiments, the communicator 103 may present an option to select whichexternal terminal or terminals are to be included or excluded in thecommunication with the communicator 103. Alternatively, the externalterminal 104, or the application or software of the external terminal,may be configured to display a communication status or information ofthe communicator, and may also display options to connect to ordisconnect from the communication with the communicator 103.

In certain embodiments, the external terminal 104 may be configured tocommunicate only with certain communicators, but not with othercommunicators. In the example of FIG. 1, the external terminal 104 isassociated on a one-to-one basis with a user 105. However the user 105may also be associated with multiple external terminals which are alldetected by the communicator 103. Embodiments of the external terminal104 may include personal computing devices such as smartphones, laptopcomputers, tablet computers, smartwatches, fitness tracking devices,biometric data devices, identification cards, embedded identificationdevices and the like.

The external terminal 104 may be associated with a unique useridentifier (UUID) associated with the user 105 such that the user isidentifiable based on recognition of the UUID. Where a user 105 isassociated with multiple external terminals, such as where a user ownsboth a smartphone and a tablet computer, all devices associated with theuser may be assigned the same UUID. Other embodiments may combinemultiple detection and information storage systems and may not include asingle unique user identifier across all participating systems, or mayimplement a single sign-on configuration across all external terminalsof a user. Such embodiments may implement delegated access security or aseparate security layer using an authorization server to issueauthentication credentials, or a federated identifier schema such as theOAuth standard.

In addition to the UUID or other identification method as discussedabove, the external terminal 104, such as a smartphone, may beconfigured to provide the communicator 103 with personal and identifyinginformation of the user 105 in order for the communicator 103 toassociate the presence of the user's external terminal 104 with themedia content output by the output device 101. A program or applicationexecuted by the external terminal 104 may collect, store, and provideinformation related to the user, or the program or application mayaccess other information stored or otherwise available on the externalterminal form other sources, such as social media databases, callhistory, internet browsing history, online purchase history, and thelike.

Upon detecting the presence of an external terminal configured tointeract with the system, the communicator 103 may retrieve from, orreceive from, the external terminal 104 identifying information relatedto the external terminal 104 and the user 105. Using this information,the communicator 103 may transmit the information to a server computer(not depicted), or otherwise cause an impression tracking database 106of the system to generate and store an information record including datarelated to the presence of the external terminal 104 and the mediacontent that was output by the output device 101.

In FIG. 1, information of the media content output by the output device101 is received from a scheduling database 107 which includesinformation regarding the media content of the media content database102 which is used to associate the media content that was being outputat the output device 101 when the presence of the external terminal wasdetected. In other embodiments, the media content may be detected andidentified by the communicator 103, output device 101, or othercomponent of the system via methods including embedded audio and/orvisual watermarks, audio/video fingerprint, content metadata, otherautomatic content recognition (ACR) technology, and the like. In certainembodiments, the media content information is obtained directly from theoutput device 101, such as where the media content is output fromsources such as a DVD or BLURAY disc player.

The impression tracking database 106 and a controlling server computerof the database may be integrated into the output device 101, into thesame device as the communicator 103, or otherwise be operativelyconnected with the communicator 103 via a network in order to receiveand/or retrieve information from the communicator 103. Each impressionevent record of the impression tracking database 106 may include theUUID and may be further uniquely identified with a timestamp, anadvertisement identifier (AdID) associated with the media content thatwas being output at the output device 101, or other unique identifyinginformation of the impression event. Additional information may also bestored in association with the impression event, including duration ofthe detection, distance of the detection, time of day of the detection,location of the external terminal, start time of the output of mediacontent, end time of output of media content, movement of the externalterminal, biometric data of the user, environmental factors such asweather, ambient light measurements, temperature, and the like.

The impression tracking database 106 may be stored on a memoryoperatively connected to an operating computer, such as a servercomputer. The server computer may include various databases and databasetables, or connections to other server computers including suchdatabases or database tables, for providing various data of the system,including information related to individual user profiles,communicators, media content, advertisements, locations ofcommunicators, output devices, products associated with advertisements,advertisement playlists, impression events, activities of a user duringimpression events, and the like. Referring back to FIG. 1, theimpression tracking database 106 is configured to store database recordsof impression events associating a detected presence of an externalterminal 104 associated with a user 105, with media content output onthe output device 101, wherein the media content includes advertisingcontent associated with an AdID. In this manner, a content provider oran advertiser may collect and refer to the impression tracking database106 to obtain information on a particular user by UUID and any mediacontent or AdID impressions which the UUID is associated with. Thecontent provider or advertiser may further obtain additional informationof the impression event such as duration, most recent media contentimpression event of the UUID, and the like, as discussed above.

Referring now to FIG. 2, another embodiment of a system 200 forcorrelating individual action information to media content distributionis depicted, specifically an aspect of the system implemented by aprovider of products or services associated with the media content aspreviously described. In the example of FIG. 2, the system 200 may beimplemented by a retailer providing goods at a physical store location,wherein the goods are the subject of an advertisement incorporated inthe media content which was viewed by the user. In FIG. 2, the retailermay implement a communicator 202 as previously described, wherein thecommunicator is configured to detect presence of an external terminal203 of a user 204 when the user enters the physical store location.

The retailer may use communicator 202 similarly to those previouslydiscussed, or their implementation may be different and scaled toaccommodate for increased capacity, including implementing multiplecommunicators 202 for the same purpose in a single location to increasethroughput. The communicator 202 of the system 100 may be connected tothe impression tracking database 106 as previously discussed, eitherdirectly or via one or more operating computer and network systems. Upondetection of a presence of an external terminal 203 of a user 204, thecommunicator 202 may identify the UUID or other identificationinformation of the user and query the impression tracking database 106for impression tracking records related to the identified user. In thismanner, the retailer may obtain information related to impression eventsspecifically related to the advertisements of the retailer's goods whichoccurred prior to the user's presence at the retailer's location. Theretailer may be able to retrieve information related to the impressionevents of the user, including the location of the impression, theduration, the time of day, context of the advertisement, and the like,including the various information previous described.

The retailer may also use the impression tracking information to take aparticular action with respect to the user based on the retrievedinformation. For example, the retailer of clothing may recognize thatthe user has recently watched an advertisement of the brand or clothingarticle and act upon a presumption that the user has come to shop for acertain article of clothing which was the subject of the watchedadvertisement. Based on this information, the retailer may offer adiscount on the article of clothing, present information with emphasison the article of clothing, instruct employees to engage the user withrespect to the article of clothing, and various other actions on thebasis of the retrieved information.

When retrieving information from the impression tracking database 106,emphasis may be placed on certain characteristics of impression eventsor advertisements viewed by an individual, such as the first impressionwithin a certain time period, last impression during a time period,shortest time lapse since the impression event, most repeated impressionfor the user, or the like.

In addition to retrieving previously stored information, the system 200may also be configured to record new database records regarding theuser's presence at the retailer location. When the external terminal 203associated with the user 204 is detected at a retailer location bycommunicator 202, the communicator 202 may be configured to cause theimpression tracking database 106 to store a new database recordincluding information related to the user's presence. In this manner,the user's presence at the retailer's location may be stored as a newimpression event, wherein the user is exposed to advertising orpromotional material of the retailer's brand or particular goods. Theinformation stored related to the user's presence may include dataregarding the duration of the user's presence, movement through thelocation, duration of the user's presence at particular areas of theretailer's location, and the like.

In another embodiment, the communicator 202 implemented at a retailerlocation may be configured to transmit or otherwise cause information tobe stored in a user actions database 205. The user actions database 205may be configured to store database records including informationrelated to actions and presence of a user at particular locations. Forexample, the communicator may detect and collect information related tothe duration of the user's presence, movement through the location,duration of the user's presence at particular areas of the retailer'slocation, and the like. In yet another example, where the externalterminal comprises a smartphone enabled with near field communication(NFC) or other mobile payment methods, the communicator 202 may detectthat the external terminal 203 was used to purchase a product at theretailer location, and cause the information of the purchase to bestored in the user actions database 205.

In another embodiment, the retailer may identify the user 204 usingother methods, including physical scanners such as face recognition,retina recognition, fingerprint readers, voice recognition, 3-D modelingrecognition, pressure sensors incorporated in locations such as floorsand seats, and the like. The retailer may also identify the user at apoint-of-sale (POS) 206 transaction by other information obtained fromthe user, such as credit card information used in a purchase, physicalidentification cards, and the like. The POS 206 may include a computerconnected via a network to the user actions database 205 to create a newdatabase record including information of the purchase transaction,including the price, style, time of day, and the like. The POS 206 mayalso be connected (not pictured) to the impression tracking database 106in embodiments where the impression tracking database 106 is configuredto store information including actions of the user such as purchases asimpression events.

The above example discusses a physical store location detecting apresence or actions of a user, however other embodiments may includeother impression or action events such as online clicks, web page views,and online purchase transactions. FIG. 3 depicts an example where apresence or action of a user is detected and information is collected inthe impression tracking database 106 or the user actions database 205.In such embodiments, a terminal 301 connected to an online retailer 303via a network such as the Internet 304 may identify the user 302 with aUUID. The terminal 301 may include the same devices as considered anddescribed above with respect to the external terminal, such as asmartphone, laptop computer, tablet computer, or the like. The onlineretailer 303 may include various server computers and may be configuredto receive the UUID or other identifying information, and retrieveimpression tracking information related to the user 302 from theimpression tracking database 106 or user action information from theuser actions database 205. Further, online retailer 303 may take thesame actions with the detected presence as discussed above with respectto physical store locations, including creating database records in theimpression tracking database 106 and the user actions database 205. Allstores may also identify the presence and action of the targetindividual by other means, including a credit card number at time ofpurchase, IP address, user login information, and the like.

In some embodiments, the retail store or online retailer's access of theuser's related impression tracking information may be unknown to theuser, and in other embodiments, the user may be an active participant inenrolling in certain applications and programs, often times in exchangefor receiving incentives. Other embodiments may require an initialopt-in by the user with no further action required by the user forauthentication. Other embodiments may require the user to activelyinstall or operate software application in a corresponding externalterminal to activate requisite functionality between the externalterminal and various communicators, and yet other embodiments mayrequire the user to actively participate in detecting the user or aterminal of the user, for example asking the user to scan an NFC capablesmartphone near a sensor, as in an embodiment using NFC sensors. Thevarious modules and data layers of the embodiments may includeencryption to ensure privacy of sensitive information, and variousencryption methods known in the art may be implemented.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing operations of an embodiment of a method400 of the present disclosure for correlating individual actioninformation to media content distribution. The method 400 includes anoperation at block 401 of providing media content for display on adisplay device, as previously discussed. The media content may includeadvertising content related to a particular good or service. The method400 further includes an operation of identifying a user as being presentrelative to the output device 402 that is outputting the media content.As previously discussed, embodiments may include identifying a user'spresence by detecting and/or communicating with an external terminalassociated with a user. The method 400 also includes an operation atblock 403 of storing in a memory data received from a party whichindicates an action of the user, including an action of the user at avirtual or physical location associated with a product or servicepresented in the media content. The data may be stored in a databasesuch as the user action database as previously described. Although notpictured, the method may further include storing data related to theidentification of the user's presence relative to the output device, andthe data may be stored in a database such as the impression trackingdatabase as previously described.

The embodiments described herein may be implemented to create a completedata profile of a user which correlates advertising content to allaspects of the advertisement-to-purchase loop, and even activity notresulting in a measureable sale, including data related to store visits,website visits, or any other action which shows interest by a user afteran impression event. Such information of advertisement/transactioncorrelations may provide a granular level of measuring the efficacy of acertain advertisement, or a level of influence which advertisementcontent may have for a particular target individual, group, ordemographic.

One embodiment may further include presenting a dashboard interface forviewing data collected and maintained by the system of the presentdisclosure. Such dashboard may access the impression tracking database,the user actions database, the media content database, and the like, asdescribed above. The dashboard may be displayed to present aggregatedstatistics or certain information records to a user of the dashboard,particularly advertising parties, media content delivery parties, andproviders of advertised goods or services. FIG. 5(a) depicts an exampleof a dashboard interface for displaying various impression trackinginformation. For example, to gauge a user's viewing habits, a dashboardinterface 501 may be provided to show information stored in theimpression tracking database 106, including displaying information of atelevision watching event 503 wherein the user viewed a 30 minutetelevision show which includes 15 media content impressions. Thedashboard interface may be customized for the user's desiredinformation, including displaying configurations such as the lastimpression event 504 for a particular user, the last impression eventfor a particular user related to a particular good or service, or a mostfrequent media content impression 505 of a particular user.

In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 5(b), the dashboard interface 501may also be configured to access the user actions database 205 topresent information detected with respect to actions of a particularuser or demographic of users. For example, the dashboard interface maybe configured to display information of a particular user's visit to aretailer location 506, a user's purchase of a particular product ofinterest 507, or a duration of a user's presence at a particular area inthe retailer location 508, such as viewing a particular product ordisplay. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat the dashboard interface may be configured and customized to displayall combinations or forms of information stored in the impressiontracking database 106 and the user actions database 205 as a user of theinterface may wish to view.

In yet another embodiment as shown in FIG. 5(c), the dashboard interface501 may be configured to access the user actions database 205 and theimpression tracking database 106 to present correlated informationassociating media content impression information with user actioninformation. For example, the dashboard interface 501 may be configuredto display all visits to a store by a user within 3 days of animpression event related to a product or service presented in the mediacontent 509. In this interface display, a user of the dashboardinterface may be able to view how effective particular advertisingcontent is to a particular user. In another embodiment, the dashboardinterface may be configured to display at block 510 AdID's of allassociated media content wherein an impression event of the mediacontent is followed by a user purchase of a related good or servicewithin a certain number of days after the impression event. In thisdisplay, the interface may present data showing effectiveness of anadvertisement for a particular user measured by the number of purchasesfollowing impression events. The dashboard interface 501 may also beconfigured to display at block 511 AdID's of all associated mediacontent wherein an impression event of the media content of a user isfollowed by zero visits to a related retail store location by theparticular user. As these are presented only by way of example, theinformation which may be correlated and presented may provide insightinto the effectiveness of certain advertisements to which a particularuser has been exposed.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of a system 600 for correlatingindividual action information to media content distribution. In thedepicted embodiment, the system 600 may collect and combine allinformation in a media content tracking database 606, includinginformation of media content scheduling from a schedule 607, informationof impressions of the media content involving a user 605, media contentbeing output by an output device 601, and presence detection informationof an external terminal 604 detected by a communicator 602.Additionally, other aspects of the system may also operably connect,retrieve information, and update information in the media contenttracking database 606, including a retailer POS 608, and a communicator609 located at a retailer location providing information on presencedetection of the user 605. The media content tracking database 606 maybe configured to store the collected information with a database recordrepresenting a single event, including media content impressions,retailer POS transactions, user presence detection at a retailerlocation, and the like, as previously discussed with respect to otherembodiments of the system.

Features disclosed with respect to embodiments of the present inventionmay be suitable for use in systems for storing, reproducing, annotation,cataloging, retrieval and distribution of advertisement content andtracking distribution, views, interaction, and exposure of theadvertisement content to individuals. Features disclosed may be furtherapplied in detecting, tracking, predicting, collecting, generating, andstoring information related to an individual's subsequent actions,behaviors, and patterns following consumption and exposure to certaintracked advertisement content. Features disclosed may also be used tofacilitate not only commercial (or non-commercial) use in determiningthe effectiveness of advertisements, but also for measuring theefficacy, quality, appeal, or otherwise effect on individuals ofin-store and online experiences by consumers.

According to embodiments of the present invention, an advertising entityand a marketing entity in a system may include one or more computersystems, computer processors, storage devices, distribution channels,etc., in order to distribute advertisement content to a target audienceand track its effectiveness. Portions of the advertisement content mayreside in different locations, or may be distributed widely andcoordinated with one another, particularly in a large organization.Moreover, particular portions may reside in entirely separateenvironments, such as advertisement and content distribution chains,clearing houses, advertisement and content creation companies, etc.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in acomputer-readable medium, a machine-readable medium, or similar mediumusing, for example, software, hardware, or any combination thereof. Fora hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein may beimplemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processingdevices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers,microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform thefunctions described herein, or a selective combination thereof. In somecases, such embodiments are implemented by a controller or a processor.

The various devices, modules, terminals, and the like discussed hereinmay be implemented on a computer by execution of software comprisingmachine instructions read from computer-readable medium. These hardwareaspects may further include an input/output interface, graphical userinterface, or other input/output means to allow the input/output ofinformation related to controlling functions, inputting information,outputting information, receiving information, or transmittinginformation. In certain embodiments, several hardware aspects may beimplemented using a single computer, in other embodiments multiplecomputers, input/output systems and hardware may be used to implementthe system.

For a software implementation, certain embodiments described herein maybe implemented with separate software modules, such as procedures andfunctions, each of which perform one or more of the functions andoperations described herein. The software codes can be implemented witha software application written in any suitable programming language andmay be stored in memory and executed by a controller or processor.

The foregoing disclosed embodiments and features are merely exemplaryand are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. Thepresent teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatusesand processes. The description of such embodiments is intended to beillustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Manyalternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for correlating individual actioninformation with media content distribution, the method comprising:obtaining data related to a presence of an external terminal relative toan output device providing media content; obtaining identifyinginformation of a user associated with the detected external terminal;and storing, in a memory, data received from another party whichindicates an action of the user at a virtual or physical locationassociated with a product or service presented in the provided mediacontent.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaininginformation of the provided media content; and causing a database tostore information of the presence of the external terminal and theinformation of the provided media content to be associated with eachother.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the information of the presenceof the external terminal comprises at least: a date and time the mobileterminal is detected relative to the output device; a length of time themobile terminal is detected relative to the output device; or a distanceat which the mobile terminal is detected relative to the output device.4. The method of claim 3, wherein the information of the presence of theexternal terminal is stored to be associated with the identifyinginformation of the user.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theidentifying information of the user is provided by the detected externalterminal.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing adatabase to store identifying information of the user and information ofthe provided media content to be associated with each other when themobile terminal is detected relative to the output device for at least athreshold length of time while the media content is provided.
 7. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising connecting to the external terminalvia a network to obtain the data related to the presence of the externalterminal.
 8. A system for correlating individual action information tomedia content distribution, the system comprising: a memory configuredto store information; and a controller configured to: obtain datarelated to a presence of an external terminal relative to an outputdevice providing media content; obtain identifying information of a userassociated with the detected external terminal; and causing the memoryto store data received from another party which indicates an action ofthe user at a virtual or physical location associated with a product orservice presented in the provided media content.
 9. The system of claim8, wherein the data related to the presence of the external terminal isobtained when the external terminal executes an application related topresence detection.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: obtain information of the displayed mediacontent; and cause a database to store information of the presence ofthe external terminal and information of the displayed media content tobe associated with each other.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein thedata related to the presence of the external terminal comprises atleast: a date and time the external terminal is detected relative to theoutput device; a length of time the external terminal is detectedrelative to the output device; or a distance at which the externalterminal is detected relative to the output device.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the data related to the presence of the externalterminal is stored to be associated with the identifying information ofthe user.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller isconfigured to obtain the identifying information of the user from theexternal terminal.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller isfurther configured to cause a database to store identifying informationof the user and information of the displayed media content to beassociated with each other when the mobile terminal is detected relativeto the output device for at least a threshold length of time while themedia content is provided.
 15. The system of claim 8 further comprisinga communication unit, wherein the controller is configured to cause thecommunication unit to connect to the external terminal via a network toallow the controller to obtain the data related to the presence of theexternal terminal.
 16. A method for correlating individual actioninformation to media content distribution, the method comprising:obtaining data related to a presence of a user relative to a virtual orphysical location associated with a product or service; obtainingidentifying information of the user associated with the detectedexternal terminal; obtaining event data from a first database, theobtained event data related to at least one event associating the userwith distributed media content related to the product or service; andcausing a second database to store information related to a presence ofthe user at the virtual or physical location.
 17. The method of claim16, wherein the obtained data related to the presence of the userincludes information of a presence of an external terminal associatedwith the user.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the data related tothe presence of the user is obtained when the external terminal executesan application configured to interface with a communicator at thephysical location.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the data relatedto the presence of the user is obtained during a purchase transaction bythe user related to the product or service.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein a cost of the purchase transaction is based on the obtainedevent data.
 21. The method of claim 16, wherein the stored informationrelated to the presence of the user comprises information of a purchasetransaction by the user related to the product or service.